Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
When lightning strikes Barry Andrews as he hikes among petroglyphs in Albuquerque, it's more than an accident of nature. It's a calling. The surge of energy awakens abilities he's carried since birth. Earth's fate is now tied to Barry's, and Barry's destiny is linked to the past.

A thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians built an advanced civilization in Chaco Canyon. Seeking to tame their harsh environment, they used the precise alignment of their pueblos to tap into powers they ultimately couldn't control, and their meddling almost ended life on Earth. The Anasazi abandoned Chaco Canyon to prevent future generations from repeating their mistake.

But the pueblo ruins still hold power, and the desire to control it remains strong. One man, driven by greed, ignores Anasazi warnings and exploits the ancient secrets of Chaco. Now Barry must join forces with a Native American elder, accept his role as warrior, and save the earth.

BOOK REVIEW:
Set in New Mexico, this book is inevitably going to be compared to the work of Tony Hillerman. Actually, I liked it better. It's an edgy book, on the brink of horror, with more than a hint of the paranormal and all with a gay subtext.

Pyeatt cleverly uses a series of shifts of point of view to draw several stories together and braid them into a tale that is not at all what you expect when you start the book. Why did the Anasazi disappear? I've actually read several non-fiction books on this topic that don't ring as true as this fictional book.

I was very impressed with the pacing of this book. The story draws you in; you don't want to put the book down. I thought I'd read a few pages, and there's just no good stopping point (that's a good thing!). The characters are clearly drawn and very individual, the language is clean, the descriptions are so visual that you feel you can see, smell and touch.

If you like a fast-paced thriller with unpredictable twists, and especially if you like the geography of northern New Mexico and Chaco Canyon, you'll love Struck.

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